1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multimedia value-added services providing system in a telecommunication network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The remarkable progress of telecommunications has been made in recent years, and it is no exaggeration to say that we are all being exposed to a communications revolution. Hereafter, a brief overview of the progress of telecommunications will be provided.
In the field of fixed telephone networks, ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) is progressing and its data transmission rate has reached levels of Gbps (gigabits per second), allowing video data or moving-picture data to be sufficiently transferred. Further, an intelligent network having intelligent nodes installed therein has been realized to allow users to be provided with value-added services by selectively accessing to the intelligent nodes each storing scenarios for realizing various kinds of value-added services.
In the field of mobile networks, advances in miniaturization and lower-prices of mobile telephone terminals have caused the number of subscribers to be dramatically increased. Further, not only real-time voice communication services but also other service contents including voice mail services for storing voice messages, short message services for sending and receiving short text messages, and the likes, have been provided in recent mobile networks. Furthermore, with advances in Wideband-CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) techniques, the next-generation mobile communications called IMT2000 is just around the corner. Accordingly, an increasing amount of data is expected to be transferred through mobile networks.
On the other hand, the Internet undergoes an astonishing explosion, which is caused by the explosion in the use of personal computers in home. There is progressing a global environment where various kinds of information around the world can be efficiently used and transmitted by an individual.
Such a telecommunication network is expected to undergo further development to the increased variety of media such as voice, text, still and video images, the increased variety of transfer means such as fixed telephone network, mobile network, and Internet, and the increased variety of services such as media conversion, the promotion of intelligent technologies, and the promotion of personalization.
In multimedia value-added services provided in telecommunication networks, however, each service requires a different user interface. Therefore, a plurality of user interfaces exits in the networks, resulting in real inconvenience for every user.
To ease such inconvenience, an information providing system has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 10-74178, which is designed to provide every user with a unified user interface for a plurality of information servers by hiding a server-dependent command with an information object.
Further, a communication supporting system has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 9-182046, which is designed to improve the efficiency of communications by a standard application programming interface connecting a user interface control program to a plurality of communication media control programs to allow closer connections between communication media.
From a common carrier""s point of view, in the case of a new value-added service introduced into the existing network, not only the provision of a new value-added service server but also the addition of some provision or the matching of interface conditions to existing devices related to the new value-added service server are needed all over the existing network. Such costly provisioning is burdened on the common carrier and finally, the charge for such a new service will be born by users.
An object of the present invention is to provide a multimedia value-added services providing system allowing a user to easily obtain desired value-added services.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a multimedia value-added services providing system allowing easy provisioning of a new value-added service into an existing network.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a system for providing value-added services to a subscriber through a telecommunication network, includes: a plurality of value-added service servers, each of which provides the subscriber with a corresponding value-added service; a control server connected to the plurality of value-added service servers through respective interfaces, for controlling the plurality of value-added service servers; a terminal of the subscriber, which is connected to the telecommunication network and has a browser installed therein, wherein the browser is operable according to a generalized description language; and a gateway server which is connected to the control server and is connected to the terminal through the telecommunication network, wherein the gateway server includes a translator for performing a translation between information according to a protocol used in each of the value-added service servers and information according to the generalized description language.
The gateway server may provide a unified interface to the terminal such that the terminal is allowed to gain access to any of the value-added service servers under a single interface condition.
The control server may control the plurality of value-added service servers and a switching system included in the telecommunication network based on a requested service received from the terminal. The control server may perform an incoming call transfer control from the terminal to a requested destination by controlling the switching system that received an incoming call to the terminal. The control server may instruct an intelligent network to perform an incoming call transfer control from the terminal to a requested destination by controlling the switching system that received an incoming call to the terminal.
The control server-preferably stores a predetermined service scenario, wherein the control server controls the value-added service servers and a switching system included in the telecommunication network based on the service scenario stored. The system may further include a personal database for retrievably storing a plurality of service scenarios defined by individual subscribers. The control server controls the value-added service servers and a switching system included in the telecommunication network based on a service scenario retrieved from the personal database according to an instruction received from a subscriber.
A new service scenario may be stored in the personal database by an authenticated subscriber. Each of the service scenarios stored in the personal database may be updated by a corresponding authenticated subscriber.
The system may further include a scenario server for retrievably storing a plurality of service scenarios created by an authenticated third party, wherein the control server controls the value-added service servers and a switching system included in the telecommunication network based on a service scenario retrieved from the personal database according to an instruction received from a subscriber.
Each of the service scenarios stored in the scenario server may be updated by the authenticated third party. A billing database for billing the subscriber by using the service scenario under control of the control server may be included.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a system for providing value-added services to a subscriber through a telecommunication network, includes: a plurality of value-added service servers, each of which provides the subscriber with a corresponding value-added service; a control server connected to the plurality of value-added service servers through respective interfaces, for controlling the plurality of value-added service servers; a terminal of the subscriber, which is connected to the telecommunication network and has a browser installed therein, wherein the browser is operable on a display according to a generalized description language; and a gateway server which is connected to the control server and is connected to the terminal through the telecommunication network, wherein the gateway server includes a translator for performing a translation between information according to a protocol used in each of the value-added service servers and information according to the generalized description language. The terminal performs an access control to any of the value-added service servers by operating a menu displayed on the display.
As described above, according to the present invention, a desired combination of various multimedia value-added services can be provided to individual users with a unified interface depending on a usage pattern of each user.
Since the personal database can also store service scenarios for individual users, by previously setting a desired scenario, a desired combination of value-added services can be obtained by each user, resulting in improved convenience and improved flexibility in service addition or update.
Further, it is possible to outsource creation of a personal scenario to a third party ensuring a predetermined level of security, resulting in further improved convenience to subscribers.
Furthermore, since a unified interface is provided, even in the case of a new value-added service introduced into the existing network, neither the addition of some provision nor the matching of interface conditions to existing devices related to the new value-added service server is needed all over the existing network. Therefore, the burden on a common carrier becomes lighter.